Ten key wine words
One key word can often convey a whole host of meanings and nuances. Using such words can shorten conversations and allow you to get quickly to the heart of the matter without getting bogged down and sounding like a thesaurus. The wine world has a whole host of such key words, or “jargon”, and they are useful to know if you want to participate in a wine course or read a specialist wine book or website.
Out of the hundreds of these specialist terms there are just ten that can allow you to get by in most vinous situations. So here they are – explained to you in an easily understood way.
Vintage
The year the wine was made. So on a wine label you’ll see the vintage shown as a year, say 2019.
Acid/acidity
Acidity gives wines a sharp taste of lemons.
Aroma/aromatic
Aromas are another name for the wine smells or bouquet. An aromatic wine has lots of aromas.
Astringent/grip
An astringent wine makes your mouth feel dry and is caused by tannins.
Balance
A well-balanced wine has no single dominant characteristic.
Complex
A complex wine has many different flavours and aromas.
Finish/length
Finish is the final flavour of the wine in the mouth while length is how long the flavour of the wine lingers.
Flinty
Wines which have mineral flavours are said to taste flinty.
Body
Body is how heavy and thick the wine feels in the mouth. Light-bodied wines feel thin and insubstantial, full-bodied wines feel rich and thick.
Old World/New World
The Old World are the wine producing areas of Europe such as France, Italy and Germany, while the New World are the winemaking areas outside Europe, such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States.
So now you are ready to join a wine appreciation course! If you want even more wine words then go to the AZ section on wineuncorked.co.uk
Paula’s Wine Reviews from wineuncorked.co.uk
Tesco French Malbec 2018
£5 Tesco
4 star rating
The aroma is just like the cherry filling on a Black Forest gateaux with a dash of liquorice Allsorts. The taste is drier than the sweet aroma would lead you to expect and is reminiscent of sharp, freshly-picked blackberries. Worth a go at its value price of a fiver.
Wine Chat French Malbec 2019 (2.25-litre winebox)
£18 Sainsbury’s (equivalent to £6/75cl bottle)
5 star rating
Outstanding everyday wine in an unusually designed outer for this three bottle equivalent winebox. It may look whacky but inside is complex and fruity red that tastes predominately of blackcurrant jam which has a woody background and some violet floral notes going on. Great value.
Jacob’s Creek Le Petit Rose 2019 review
£7 Co-op
3 star rating
This Aussie rose has “a little French style” according to the label. If that means it’s a little sweet and has a delicate flavour of strawberry frangipane, then yes it is a little French. Nice enough but rather expensive for what it delivers.
Apothic Club Californian Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
£8 Tesco
3 star rating
Aromas of overripe raspberry and plum followed by sweet, jammy flavours of blackberry jam smothered in milk chocolate. If you like your red wines sweet then this is for you. But expensive for what it is.
The wineuncorked.co.uk wine rating system uses a maximum of 5 stars:
5 star rating (outstanding – the top rating given by wineuncorked.co.uk)
4 star rating (very good wine)
3 star rating (good wine but over priced)
2 star rating (a disappointing wine)
1 star rating (little to offer)
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© Paula Goddard 2020 www.wineuncorked.co.uk
